How to grow rhubarb in the Northeast. We started with one plant on the south side of our yard. It grew to well and too fast, and bolted (flowered). We then bought two more plants, put them in a raised mound of soil (poor clay, but well drained) on the west side of our house that gets ample afternoon sun. I put a bag of pine nugget mulch around them every other year to keep the weeds down. They love it there. In their current location, the plants have never bolted, and my husband harvests enough to bake a pie a week all summer long, plus enough to freeze for making pies in the winter. We have lots of friends that wait for his pies. The first sign of spring on our yard is when those red leaves poke their heads out of the ground. In three weeks, there were abundant stalks and we had rhubarb pie on Mother’s Day. I’m anxious to try this cake recipe!
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I was fortunate to hear about this rhubarb cake from Melissa Clark on her book tour. I made it and it was divine! The sweet buttery cake with the kiss of the tart rhubarb as filling and topping = culinary delight! As a home cook, I believe this is easier than making it into a pie. Thanks, Melissa.
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I made this, it was an epic fail. Tasted great, looked pretty, texture was awful. More like pudding than cake
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I live in a garden paridise where everything grows easily. Why was rhubarb $12.00 a pound at the local Gelson's Market last week?
I think rhubarb actually needs punishingly cold winters to really flourish! My guess is that that was a shipping premium.
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We can grow passion fruit, kiwi, macadamia nuts, avocados, cut flowers, all manner of exotic fruits and veggies, have llama farms, alpaca herds, peacock farms and all manner of rare exotic crops but we can't grow bebop-a-re-bop rhubarb pies? Do I need to move to a place that grows sauerkraut straight from the ground and relies on musk oxen meat to have good rhubarb? Bah humbug!
My mom made the best rhubarb pie! And rhubarb jam. No mixing with strawberries. Ewwww.
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Rhubarb stewed with the least sugar accompanies pork chops. Try it as a chutney.
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Rhubarb is one of those childhood memories from long ago. My mom would make rhubarb pie with fresh custard. Other than stewed rhubarb though she never did anything else with it. I've never thought to do anything different with it either which is odd because I have experimented with every other fruit that has crossed my path more than a few times.
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My mom also made rhubarb custard pie and rhubarb upside down cake . Pie was my favorite. She froze rhubarb so she could bake the custard pies all year long . I also remember sitting on the porch steps with my sister Pat and best friend Sissy. We each had a big stalk of rhubarb and shared a saucer of sugar for dipping. Those were the days.
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Nothing says Spring more vigorously than the smell, sight or taste of fresh asparagus or rhubarb plucked from the garden.
Thanks for another wonderfully written and educating article Ms. Clark. I adore the idea of a rich and buttery pound cake accompanied by tart and tangy fruit. The only variation in our house is that I prepare a fresh rhubarb and strawberry compote to be applied on the side. Some of our friends enjoy the juice of this mixture drizzled over their slice of cake whereas others simply like it ladled on the side of the cake.
No matter how you slice it, pound cake and rhubarb pair nicely together.
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My wife likes to make rhubarb sweet sauce, to accompany baked things and vanilla ice cream. I eat it out of politeness.
On the photo at the head of the article, I thought these were hot dogs, specially ornamented with grooves and embedded in dow.
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@Tuvw Xyz:
Vanilla ice cream is the perfect accompaniment to ANY baked item if you ask me. If certain helps along something like a rhubarb sweet sauce if one is not particularly partial to that. And I have to be honest - I too thought those were hot dogs on some kind of fancy French bread with melted cheese in between.
@ Marge Keller Midwest
Well, as they say, great minds think alike. :-))